3.31.14 USAC Racing News and Notes

3.31.14 USAC Racing News and Notes

Three Indiana drivers and one each from Illinois and Arizona will try to rekindle past victory at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track when the “Sumar Classic” USAC Silver Crown Championship opener unfolds Sunday at the half-mile dirt oval.

The five drivers have a combined 15 victories at the storied oval, dating from 1993-2013!

Dave Darland of Lincoln, Ind. and Tracy Hines of New Castle, Ind., who are battling for numerous all-time USAC records, each have four wins at Terre Haute. Darland won the 1993 Tony Hulman Classic Sprint race, the 1999 and 2003 Hut Hundred Midget races and the 2008 Sumar Classic. Hines won the 1999 and 2003 Jan Opperman Sprint races plus the 2001 Tony Hulman Classic and Hut Hundreds.

Darland just surpassed the 1,000 mark in total USAC National starts, while Hines is rapidly closing on that milestone. Darland has 90 total USAC National feature wins to his credit, while Hines is at 88.

Sunday’s 100-lap “twilight” race should get the green at around 7 pm, following practice at 4 pm and qualifying.

A field of 24 cars is slated for the 100-lap race and drivers will be aiming at Josh Wise’s 1-lap track qualifying record of 89.379 mph. Gary Bettenhausen established the 100-lap Terre Haute Silver Crown record of 50 minutes, 37.20 seconds in 1980.

Drivers A.J. Fike, Aaron Pierce and Kody Swanson also have previous USAC Silver Crown victories to their credit, while Sunday’s field will include more than a dozen drivers seeking their initial series start.

DAVE DARLAND, TRACY HINES CHASE HISTORY AT LAWRENCEBURG

Dave Darland and Tracy Hines, second and fourth respectively in the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car standings, continue their pursuit of all-time USAC records this Saturday when the series makes its 2014 Midwest debut at the Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway.

Darland has 47 victories and Hines 45 as they continue to challenge all-time series leader Tom Bigelow’s record of 52. Hines also continues his pursuit of 1,000 USAC National feature starts, currently at 993, while Darland became the first to reach the 1,000 plateau in February.

Defending series champion Bryan Clauson has a four-point lead over Darland after winning the most recent series race, at Ocala, Fla. in February. Chase Stockon is three points behind Darland in third and just one point ahead of Hines in fourth.

Darland also leads the all-time list of USAC winners at Lawrenceburg with six, compared to Jon Stanbrough’s five. Stanbrough is currently eighth in the 2014 standings.

Clauson is also the most recent USAC winner at Lawrenceburg. Kevin Thomas Jr. won twice at the “Burg” in 2103.

CLASSIC SPRINTS DEBUT THIS WEEKEND AT CALISTOGA

USAC’s Western Classic Sprint Cars open their 2014 season this weekend at Calistoga (Calif.) Speedway. Races are scheduled Saturday and Sunday at the half-mile dirt northern California oval.

Bud Kaeding and Kyle Larson captured victories in last year’s Calistoga Sprint races, which offered both CRA and Classic points. This weekend’s races will be the first at Calistoga strictly for Classic points.

Ryan Bernal of Hollister, Calif, winner of one of two 2012 Calistoga races, is the defending Western Classic champion. He opened last year’s series with back-to-back wins, then added a fourth later in the campaign at Calistoga.

Finnish driver Markus Niemela will lead the USAC West Coast sprint Cars back to Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif., where Saturday night he finished fourth in a 30-lap race. Niemela’s point lead stands at 12 over Jace Vander Weerd, Saturday’s feature winner.

Vander Weerd, of Visalia, Calif., led the final nine laps in his Vander Weerd Construction/Stone Gate Development Maxim/Lawrence. He passed Michael Pickens on lap 22 and led the rest of the way to beat fast qualifier Nic Faas, Matt Mitchell, Markus Niemela and Pickens. Vander Weerd led the first 11 laps before Pickens led the next 10.

The win was Vander Weerd’s first at Hanford and his third in series history.

Josh Pelkey of Peoria, Ariz. is the early leader in the USAC Southwest Sprint Car standings after winning Saturday night’s 30-lap season opener at Canyon Speedway Park. He passed Mike Bonneau on lap three and never looked back, beating Johnson, Shon Deskins, Tom Ogle and Andy Reinbold to the checkered flag in his ABC Body Shop/NAPA Auto Parts DRC/Advanced.

USAC Silver Crown Pool Kicks off Sunday

(March 31, 2014) – Interested in earning the title of “USAC Silver Crown Fan of the Year”? Want a chance to win prizes from each USAC Silver Crown race?

Your chance for all that starts this Sunday with Round One of the Inaugural USAC Silver Crown Pool. And, entry to this Pool is FREE, so no reason not to take your shot at the big win.

Conducted in similar style to the popular Chili Bowl Pool among others, the USAC Silver Crown Pool will include six driver groups for each of the eleven events on the series schedule with Pool winners crowned for each event and ultimately a season-long Pool champion that will be crowned “USAC Silver Crown Fan of the Year” and earn a pair of tickets to USAC’s Night of Champions awards banquet.

Selection sheets along with rules and points breakdown for this Sunday’s Sumar Classic at the Terre Haute action track are attached in both Excel and PDF formats. Simply make one selection from each of the six groups, fill in the tiebreaker and get your entry to lonniewheatley@gmail.com by 4:00 p.m. EDT (3:00 p.m. CDT) on Sunday, April 6.

The winner of Sunday’s USAC Silver Crown Pool Round One will win a Hoosier Racing Tire jacket and toboggan.